Knaphill won 8-1 at home to Alton in the second round of the Aldershot Senior Cup.

A hat-trick from Ross Murdoch and a composed all-round display booked Knaphill’s place in the semi-finals on a rain-soaked night at Redding Way.

The Knappers took the lead on 18 minutes when Bradley Sweeney threaded a perfectly-weighted pass into the path of Murdoch, who ran onto it and calmly found the corner of the net.

Alton thought they had equalised soon afterwards when Joshua Stepney whipped a free kick into the box. Harvey Keogh came to punch, but the ball rebounded off Tom Wensley and into the net. The goal was ruled out, however, with Cody Howard adjudged to be offside when the delivery was made.

Knaphill doubled their advantage on 33 minutes from a set piece, Sweeney again the provider as he whipped a free kick towards the far post, where captain Wensley glanced a flick beyond Adam Melville to make it 2-0.

Just before the interval, Alton went close when David Garlinge cut inside from the right onto his left foot and delivered a dangerous cross. Alex MacAllister met it with a flicked header towards the bottom left corner, but Keogh reacted sharply to get down well and scramble the ball around the post.

Alton pulled a goal back shortly after the restart when the ball fell to Alex Merrifield on the edge of the box, and he bent a well-struck effort into the left-hand side of the goal.

Knaphill’s response was immediate as Murdoch broke forward and drove into the area, where he was brought down by Angel Zapata. Murdoch confidently sent the resulting penalty into the right-hand corner, sending Melville the wrong way.

The match then entered a chaotic spell. Thomas Harland-Goddard was shown two quick yellow cards for dissent and dismissed, before parity was restored moments later when Zapata was shown a second yellow for a late challenge on Ben Mitchell as he broke forward on the counter, reducing both sides to ten men.

Alton continued to compete and created chances despite the conditions. MacAllister was released one-on-one with Keogh, but Jack Baisden recovered superbly to make a perfectly-timed sliding tackle and dispossess him. Kwesi Ntim later threaded a ball through to Joshua Millo, but Keogh was again alert, rushing from his line to block at the forward’s feet.

Knaphill extended their lead on 75 minutes as Murdoch completed his hat-trick. A long kick forward from Keogh sailed over the Alton back line, allowing Murdoch to break clear before lifting a delightful chipped finish over the advancing Melville.

The Knappers then scored their fifth in the 82nd minute. A sharp counter-attack saw Ross Cheek win possession and feed Sweeney, who carried the ball forward before releasing Jack Phillips down the flank. Phillips drove on and found Jack Carrod, who held the ball up well before laying it back for Phillips to fire a low finish into the bottom corner.

The hosts made it 6-1 five minutes later. Michak Stanic Stewart drove forward down the right to the byline and pulled the ball back into the path of Phillips, who smashed his finish past Melville.

The Knappers scored two goals in stoppage time, with Sweeney scoring Knaphill’s seventh before Stanic Stewart made it 8-1 to complete the scoring.

By James Carpenter